Sep 3 Jen Mann

Disillusioned with the art world’s emphasis on commercialism, Jen Mann views her paintings as physical and visual manifestations of ideas rather than as products. Her art is conceptual and often begins as written phrases in a journal. The series “Strange Beauties” (2013) was borne from Mann’s frustration over a lack of materials. Working with discarded images from her computer’s photo library, Mann toyed with color saturation and hue to expose previously unseen details and challenge conventional notions of beauty, revealing the hidden magic in otherwise awkward images. Mann uses color as a storytelling technique, evoking elements of identity and interpersonal relationships in her paintings.